Student Views 2010
Recollections follow of a former leader, Jangmin (John) Lim:
It was January when I first walked into St Bede’s College with fear and anxiety about almost everything. Within the first three months so very often I found difficulty in communicating with native New Zealanders and everything was unfamiliar to me.
From then on five years has passed by with so many good memories. Particularly I will never forget the time when I played basketball for the College especially when we won the South Island premiership in Invercargill.
I have been trained and developed through the College into a capable student who has fortunately been able to contribute to the College as a Prefect and International Student Leader. Personally I feel privileged and fortunate to have spent my five year secondary school life at St Bede’s College with many friendly Kiwi friends and humorous and warm-hearted staff.
As International Student Leader one of my roles has been to help International Students to integrate well with Kiwi students and make sure there is no conflict between them … [This year] there has been hardly any problems … I have watched how International Students themselves have tried to be part of the College community and integrate well.”
My name is Theo. I come from the north of France and I live in a little town called Saint-Quentin. There are just sixty thousand people living in this city. I came to New Zealand for a year to learn English. I live with a host family in Northwood. All is going very well because they are very nice to me. During the weekend, if there is no rowing my family and I ride our mountain bikes in Bottle Lake Forest. I enjoy this very much, especially when I can finish ahead of Jeff, my host father!
I am at Saint Bede’s College because I am a rower and the Saint Bede’s rowing club is probably one of the better school clubs in Christchurch. I chose to come to New Zealand because it is a place where everyone practises sport with a passion and I love sport. Secondly, there are a lot of wonderful landscapes and beautiful scenery.
In December I am travelling to Queenstown where I will hope to experience ‘Lord of the Rings’ country when I go on a Dart River jet boat experience. The adaptation in the first week or so was very difficult because of the time difference of ten hours in France. I think the biggest difference is at school. In France, school is co-educational and there is no school uniform. I miss having girls at school!
Out of school, there are a lot of differences. In New Zealand the life is not stressful, the people are very welcoming and nice and the city is very clean. In France it’s the opposite because dog owners do not have to pick up the poo after their pets, there is a lot of rubbish on the footpaths and roads and people are always in a hurry to get to work.
Another difference between France and New Zealand is of course the food. At home I have a big breakfast of croissants with Nutella or bread with Nutella and a lot of coffee, usually in a large bowl. Here I also have croissants and bread (and Nutella) but I have also discovered crumpets. Very nice with Nutella! Lunch usually takes about forty five minutes and the meal in the evening is eaten quite late, usually at about 8 o’clock.
I appreciate the opportunity to attend St. Bede’s College and am grateful for all the help and support that I have received. At the end of the year I hope my English has improved and I want to have made many friends. I think this year is going to be THE experience of my life. I have already had one very big experience on September 4 – the big earthquake!
After this year I hope to return to New Zealand for a holiday and to see my host family and friends.
Thank you to you all.
I have been studying at St Bede’s College for four years now and I have enjoyed this time because the teachers are really helpful and friendly … the students are friendly and nice. I have made some Kiwi friends. My English has improved because there is only one other student who can speak Mandarin with me, therefore I use English most of the time at school. I would recommend this school to other International Students because it provides a good study and social environment.
Chih Wei (James) Chuang, Year 13, Taiwan
I always remember the first time I passed St Bede’s College, I didn’t know then that this beautiful place will become my school. Now two and a half years later things have changed a lot … my English has improved and I have made many Kiwi friends who help me with my English.
Pei Lin (Anthony) Zhao, Year 12, China
I came to St Bede’s College because it is a Christian school. The school is pretty nice and the school rules are very strict so most students behaviour is better than other schools. The teachers are very kind, especially Mrs Bradley and International Students talk to her if they have problems. My First XI [football] friends are really kind to me and I have made lots of Kiwi friends.
Jai Hyung (Aloysius) Park, Year 11, Korea
I came to St Bede’s College because I had some Thai friends here and they said this school is good so I chose to come here. The teachers and students are friendly … I have made many Kiwi friends and they help me with everything so my English speaking has really improved. I would recommend my friends to come to this school because it is a very good school and the Thai students help each other.
Chanunt (Hud) Chaijinda, Year 13, Thailand